Gondola car.



C. H. CLARK.

GONDOLA CAR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14. {912. 1,136,31 Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

2 sums-'annnmf FIG. 5

FIG.1

FIG. 2

WITNESSES NVENTOR W M zmzw z C. H. CLARK.

GONDOLA CAR.

APPLICATION FILED NOV- 14, IQIZ- 1,136,318, Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES {NVENTOR W iv? A W i I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. CLARK, OF GRAFTON, PENNSYLVANIA, AS SIGNOR T0 CLARK CAR COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

GONDOLA CAR.

Patented Apr. 20, 1915.

Application filed November 14, 1912. Serial No. 731,305.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. CLARK, a resident of Grafton, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gondola Cars, of which the following is a specification.

The primary object of this invention is to provide eflicient door mechanism for a drop bottom gondola car, the doors being horizontal when closed and adapting the car for general service, though always available for dumping lading that it may be desired to discharge in this way.

The invention herein is directed 'to the provision of mechanism for efficiently supporting the doors in horizontal closed position and for moving them to and from such position.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of a car constructed in accordance with the invention, the doors being shown closed, and with portions of the structure broken away to illustrate the door-supporting and door-actuating means. Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan of the car. Fig. 3 is an end elevation with one of the doors closed and the opposite door open. Fig. 4 is a crosssection on line H, of Fig. 2, with the doors in the relative positions shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail of one of the door supporting and actuating mechanisms. I

The car body as here illustrated has its horizontal floor or bottom 2 constructed with four openings 3 arranged in pairs transversely thereof, with the openings of each pair at opposite sides of and extending longitudinally of the car body. As the invention contemplates a separate door and door operating mechanism for each opening, it will be understood that the number and relative arrangements of the doors may be varied.

A flat door 4 is provided for each opening, the door closing against the under side of the body so that with the doors closed the car is adapted for general service, although the doors are in constant readiness for dumping any lading which it may be desired to discharge through the car bottom. Each door 4 is of bodily movable type, with links 5 pivoted to the under side at each end thereof at 6 and with rollers 7 mounted on said links and adapted to travel on tracks 8 arranged transversely of the body, the tracks depending from the body and secured thereto as shown.

Operating shafts 9 extend longitudinally of the car body at the inner sides of openings 3one shaft for each opening, the eX- tremity of each shaft at the end of the car being provided with a hook-like crank 10. \Vith the car body provided with four openings, the shafts for two of the openings extend to one end of the car, and the shafts for the other two openings extend to the opposite end. Secured to each shaft 9 are links 11 of the door actuating toggles, the other link (or pair of links) 12 of the toggle connecting with journal 7 of roller 7. Links 13, loose on each of shafts 9, are pivotally connected to the door ends ad acent their inner longitudinal edges at 13' for directing the rotation of the-door during the travel of the rollers.

Each door is preferably of box form with its longitudinal edges turned downward at 14 and with its ends 15 also disposed downwardly, each door being reinforced longitudinally by a Z-bar 16. This construction provides a strong and durable door that will Withstand the strains to which it is subjected as an element of the car floor.

In operation, it will be seen that when the door is in closed position, as at the righthand of Fig. 4, links 5 stand substantially vertical, with roller 7 engaging the upturned end 8 of track 8. Also in this position the center points of the toggle elements are in line, with each roller on a dead center in the position in which it holds the door closed. With the door closed crank 10 at the outer end of shaft 9 is disposed inwardly or toward the center of the car, as at the right hand of Fig. 3, with the shaft locked in such position by dog 17 engaging the shoulder stop 18 on the shaft. To close the door, dog 17 is disengaged and a suitable implement, such as a crow-bar, is placed beneath hook 10 of crank 10 for lifting the crank and throwing shaft 9 sufficiently to flex the toggles, when the weight of the load completes the opening movement, rollers 7 traveling on tracks 8, and the bodily moving door rotating about center 5, such rotation being controlled by links 13. The angle of the door when moving toward'open position is at all times greater than the angle of friction of the-material on the door, the angle of contact between the door and load increasing as the angle of the tangent to the curve of travel decreases. When closing the door the weight is not lifted at all during the firstpart of the motion, and as the door is forced up into closed horizontal position by the action of the toggles, the work required for such closing movement decreases with the straightening out of the toggle elements.

The door is substantially balanced, and when closed the entire weight thereof and of the lading resting thereon is sustained by links 5 and the rollers.

I claim i 1. A car bottom door rotatable about a single axis and when closed wholly supported at such axis, supports sustained from beneath and at their upper ends pivoted to the door coincidentally with its axis of rotation, support sustaining means, and means for swinging the supports toward and away from vertical position for closing and opening the doors.

2; The combination of door supports sustained from beneath and movable relatively to their sustaining means, support sustaining means, a car bottom door when closed wholly sustained by the supports and piv- ,oted to rotate thereon about a single axis when opening and when closing, and means for moving the supports relatively to their sustaining means for opening and closing the door.

3. Thecombination of a car body having a bottom horizontal opening, a bodily movable downwardly opening door closed upwardly into horizontal position, means beneath and wholly supporting the door when closed and on which it is rotatable about a single horizontal axis when opening and i when closing, and means for moving the supporting means to open and close the door.

4. The combination of a car body having a bottom opening at one side of its longitudinal center line, a bodily movable downwardly opening door for closing the opening, .supports beneath and extending downwardly from the. door for wholly sustaining it in closed position, the door being connected to the supports at a single horizontal axis and rotatable about said axis, and support shifting means for moving the door bodily toward the center of the car when opening with the door rotatable about its axis into outwardly inclined open position.

5. The combination of a car having a bottom opening, a bodily movabledoor therefor, a support beneath and pivotedto the under side of the door to swing about a horizontal axis with the support substantially vertical and wholly sustaining the door when closed, support moving means, and means for rotating the door on the support during its opening and closing movements 0 6. The combination of a car having a bottom opening, a downwardly opening bodily movable door therefor horizontal when closed with one edge thereof adapted to lower and the opposite edge thereof adapted to rise as the door opens, a support wholly sustaining the door when closed and mounted to swing on the door about a horizontal axis with such axis located intermediate the reversely moving edges of the door, support actuating means, and means connected to the door for rotating it on its support as it opens and closes.

7. The combination of a car having a bottom opening, a bodily movable door therefor, a door supporting roller having a swinging connection with the door, a track for the roller, an operating shaft, a toggle having one end secured to said shaft and its-opposite end connected to the roller, and a link on said shaft connected to the door for rotating the latter during the travel of the roller.

8. The combination of a car having a bottom opening, a bodily movable rotatable door therefor, an operating shaft means connecting the shaft and door for moving the latter to andfrom closed position, and a separate means connecting the shaft and door for rotating the door as it opens and closes.

9. The combination of a car having a bottom opening, a bodily movable door therefor, a roller having swinging connection with the door, a track for the roller, an op erating shaft mounted on the car, means connecting the shaft and roller for movin the latter on the track to close the door, an

a link on said shaft and connected to the door for rotating the latter during the travel of the roller. c s

10. The combination of aflcar having a bottom'opening extending longitudinally of the car at one side of the car center, a bodily movable door for the opening, a roller beneath and having a swinging connection with the door with the axis of said connection' extending longitudinally of the car and located intermediate the longitudinal edges of the door, a track for the roller extending transversely of the car, an operating shaft mounted on the car inwardly from the bottom opening and extending longitudinally thereof with the shaft extending to an end. of the car, roller actuating means secured 'toihe shaft, and a connection between the shaft and door fordirecting the rotation of the latter during the travel of the roller. -llhA. car having. bottom openings at opposite sides of the center thereof, a bodily moving door for each opening inclined when open for directing the discharging material toward the side of the track corresponding with the location of such opening, actuating shafts located on the car inwardly from the openings and extending longitudinally of the car and means operatively connecting J. M. NEsBrr, F. E. GAITHER. 

